Almost half of all crimes 'ignored' by police

Posted by GLA Conservatives in Blog     1 comment      Share2013

Jul
16

• 40% of burglaries, 23% of robberies and 76% of car thefts not investigated by UK’s biggest force
• “If you are a thief, you can rest assured that over three quarters of your crimes, reported by victims, will be ignored by police”

Almost half (45%) of all crimes are not investigated by the Met – the UK’s biggest police force – according to the 2012/13 figures uncovered by GLA Conservatives Assembly Member Roger Evans.

The data shows a quarter (23%) of robberies and 40% of burglaries are ‘screened out’ by the Met, as well as 76% of car thefts and 81% of cycle thefts.

Roger is now calling for victims of crime to be allowed the right to appeal to their local safer neighbourhood boards – groups of local volunteers working with local police which come into existence from 2014 – if the police decide not to investigate their crime.
 
Rogers Evans, Conservative spokesman for Policing and Crime, said:

“It’s a disgrace that the Met Police are refusing to investigate a huge number of acquisitive crimes. A victim of crime shouldn’t feel that the police have no interest in them unless you are physically or sexually assaulted. Resources are tight; but crimes such as burglary are, in no way, minor. They can have a devastating impact on the confidence and wellbeing of the victim. Moreover, many criminals’ illegal activities escalate each time they get away with it so we are sending out a very dangerous message.”

“If you are a thief in London, you can rest assured that over three quarters of your crimes, reported by victims, will be ignored by police. With the high availability of CCTV in London there is no excuse for this lackadaisical attitude. We need a dramatic shift in the way police see these crimes – they may not be exciting to investigate but they are serious.”

 
The full figures for 2012/13, provided by the Met Police in response to a Freedom of Information request, can be accessed here